Utility menu

Breadcrumb

Consumer Protections Are Under Attack: Call Your Senator Today!

Share:

The Short Version

A new bill would subject the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to the congressional appropriations process, meaning Congress could (and likely would) decide to drastically cut the Bureau's funding, jeopardizing the range of important work the Bureau does.

The Action

The Details

The Senate Appropriations Committee just released the Financial Services and General Government markup legislation, and it includes a dangerous rider (i.e., an add-on provision) that would subject the CFPB to the annual appropriations process. Right now, the CFPB is independently funded through the Federal Reserve System, but if the bill passes with this rider, it would give Congress the power to drastically defund the Bureau each year—subjecting it to the political whims of Republicans in Congress who believe the government shouldn’t be in the business of protecting consumers from predatory actors in the financial marketplace.

This new rider is disappointing given that the same bill also fully funds the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at $15 million. Whereas we believe this is a step in the right direction toward empowering consumers to save and get ahead, we cannot support a bill that weakens an agency that has fought so hard to protect the same working families that depend on VITA from the predatory financial products and practices that demand regulation. Over the past six years, the CFPB has returned $12 billion dollars to the pockets of 29 million consumers harmed by abusive market practices, proving just how critical this agency is.